Synopsis

Naked LunchThis cinematic/literary hybrid fuses motifs from Beat writer William S. Burroughs's novel of the same name with elements of the author's biography and plenty of the cerebral alienation and biomorphic special effects fans of creepy cult director David Cronenberg have come to expect. Bill Lee (Peter Weller) wants to write, but he exterminates bugs to pay the bills. His wife, Joan (Judy Davis), becomes addicted to Bill's bug powder dust, and soon he joins her in a world of unorthodox hallucinogens; he visits the kindly yet sinister Dr. Benway (Roy Scheider) and walks away with his first dose of the black meat -- a narcotic made from the flesh of the giant aquatic Brazilian centipede. Soon, monstrous beetles are whispering conspiracy theories in Bill's ears and his nebbish writer friends Hank (Nicholas Campbell) and Martin (Michael Zelniker) are sleeping with Joan under his nose. When a party trick involving a liquor glass and a gun goes awry, killing Joan, Bill flees to Interzone, a Mediterranean city full of talking insectoid typewriters, double agents, offbeat aesthetes, and plots within plots. As he navigates this paranoid landscape, Bill begins ingesting another drug called mugwump jism and writes fragments that Hank and Martin soon assemble into a novel under the title Naked Lunch. As beat literature aficionados know, Interzone is based on Tangiers -- the city where Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch. The incident in the film in which Hank and Martin appropriate Bill's writing and have it published closely approximates the real-life circumstances of the novel's publication, although it was Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac who helped out the real-life Burroughs. The William Tell incident that kills Bill's wife is also drawn from the author's real life. "William Lee" is both Burroughs' literary stand-in and the name under which he published his first autobiographical novel Junky. Ian Holm, who plays Joan Frost's husband, Tom, would appear in Cronenberg's similarly experimental eXistenZ several years later. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Overall Customer Rating

What a weird movie...

February 6, 2015

What can be said about Naked Lunch beyond, "It's a weird movie!". It's what you should expect though coming from David Cronenberg who brought you Scanners and Videodrome. Starring the often overlooked Peter Weller (Robocop) the film is like watching a schitzo's dream. It changes pace, features odd elements that seem out of place (getting high on bug spray?) and turns into an espionage style movie wrapped up in a weird box. Get some friends and some popcorn, pop it in and talk about it while it's on. At the very least you'll have an interesting 2 hour experiment!

Another win for Cronenberg

August 30, 2013

Very strange, but this much is expected from Cronenberg. You have to go into it knowing what to expect from the director and have an open mind. If you are a fan of his other movies, you should love this one.

Great to see this finally on bluray

Weird, well done take on Burroughs!!!

May 5, 2013

Based on the book by William S. Burroughs...David Cronnenberg casts his film into his own bizarre take on the novel with stunning imagery and weirdness beyond what no other director I think could bring to this twisted tale about homosexuality. Brilliant take that maybe the likes of Gilliam fans could love. Highly Recommended!!!

Drugs are bad, mmkah
Posted by: DONROBER from: SAN ANTONIO, TX on David Cronenberg defies all notions that William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch was an un-filmable novel with this hallucinogenic flick. It literally oozes creativity; don't miss it!

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

5

Another win for Cronenberg
Posted by: TucoStrangelove from: California on Very strange, but this much is expected from Cronenberg. You have to go into it knowing what to expect from the director and have an open mind. If you are a fan of his other movies, you should love this one.

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

4

What a weird movie...
Posted by: SM469 from: WV on What can be said about Naked Lunch beyond, "It's a weird movie!". It's what you should expect though coming from David Cronenberg who brought you Scanners and Videodrome. Starring the often overlooked Peter Weller (Robocop) the film is like watching a schitzo's dream. It changes pace, features odd elements that seem out of place (getting high on bug spray?) and turns into an espionage style movie wrapped up in a weird box. Get some friends and some popcorn, pop it in and talk about it while it's on. At the very least you'll have an interesting 2 hour experiment!

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

4

Weird, well done take on Burroughs!!!
Posted by: mook1022 from: Clintonville, WI on Based on the book by William S. Burroughs...David Cronnenberg casts his film into his own bizarre take on the novel with stunning imagery and weirdness beyond what no other director I think could bring to this twisted tale about homosexuality. Brilliant take that maybe the likes of Gilliam fans could love. Highly Recommended!!!

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

5

Great to see this finally on bluray
Posted by: ChiAli from: Wichita,ks on One of the best, weirdest sci fi movies you will ever see.